Irvine man suspected in nine residential burglaries arrested

Irvine, Calif. (January 25, 2019) – A foot pursuit Wednesday ended in the arrest of a suspect tied to at least nine residential burglaries in Irvine. Ismail Luqman Wasi, 20, of Irvine is suspected of breaking into homes in University Park and other areas, sometimes while residents were at home. The Irvine Police Department has recovered much of the tens of thousands of dollars of property Wasi stole since his spree began in December.

At 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, a resident on Gillman was awakened by sounds coming from a nearby room. The resident went to investigate and found the suspect holding her laptop computer. The suspect fled the home. The resident called police, who set up a search for the suspect.

After fleeing the home on Gillman, the suspect broke into homes on Dewberry and Sandburg Way. He was then seen on Montanas Norte, near Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course. Police were alerted to this activity and closed in on the suspect. Around 7:25 a.m., Wasi was spotted by police and a brief foot pursuit ensued before he was taken into custody.

At the time of the arrest, Wasi had property in his possession from the burglary on Gillman, as well as from a December burglary at San Leon apartments. Later, detectives located a storage unit belonging to Wasi that contained stolen property from previous residential burglaries.

Wasi is believed to have entered the residences he burglarized through unlocked doors. He is being held on $1 million bail. Wasi may be linked to more burglaries in the City. Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Irvine Police Department Detective Justin Brouwer at 949-724-7124 or jbrouwer@cityofirvine.org.